Description: "Imprisoned since age nineteen, Alim Braxton has spent more than a quarter century on North Carolina's death row. During that time, he converted to Islam and dedicated his life to redemption. Braxton, a rapper since the age of thirteen, uses his rhymes as a form of therapy and to advocate for prison reform, particularly by calling attention to the plight of the wrongfully incarcerated. This book, a hip-hop-rich prison memoir, chronicles Braxton's struggles and triumphs as he attempts to record an album while on death row, something no one has done before. Braxton's world is complex: full of reflections on guilt, condemnation, incarceration, religious awakening, and the redemptive power of art. Ultimately, Braxton shows us that even amid the brutality of our prison system there are moments of joy, and on death row joy may be the most powerful form of resistance"--
Brief description: Alim Braxton (a.k.a. RRome Alone) is a writer, rapper, and activist living on North Carolina's death row in Raleigh.
Review Quotes: "The tenacity and meticulousness with which Braxton creates his music indicate the stakes he attached to it--namely, hip-hop as advocacy through self-expression. . . . Rap and Redemption on Death Row is an extension of Braxton's hip-hop activism and a manifestation of his contention that imprisonment, even without hope for release, does not negate humanity or the search for purpose."--Journal of African American History